48th Convocation at IIT Delhi

A new Department of Materials Science & Engineering to become operational soon.

A new School of Public Policy to be inaugurated soon

IIT Delhi to start Joint Degree programmes with various academic institutes in India and abroad.

50% increase in the Sponsored R&D funding in the last one year.

Amidst a strong resonance of congratulatory messages and confidence boosting speeches, the 48th convocation of IIT Delhi was held on Saturday. The President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind was the chief guest on the occasion.

A total of 1942 degrees were awarded which included 306 PhD degrees and 28 MSR. The main event was held at the open air theatre followed by the departmental convocations at different venues.

Delivering the convocation address the President said: “The IIT system in general – and IIT Delhi specifically – has been the gold standard of technical education in our country. IIT alumni have been the bedrock of India’s engineering capabilities, its IT industry and our start-up culture. They have been brand ambassadors of India’s intellectual and technological strength across the globe, from Singapore to Silicon Valley.”

Tracing the history of IITs, he said they were founded in the 1950s and early 1960s in a resource-starved country, coming out of colonialism. “At that stage, we desperately needed to consolidate our technical and intellectual resources. As India grew, the IIT system grew with it. The early focus was on producing well-educated engineers, primarily at the undergraduate level. I am happy that today these institutions have a strong focus on research and development as well.”

Expressing happiness that IIT Delhi now had more post-graduate students than at the undergraduate level, he said: “This is a healthy sign. We are moving towards research-based learning and churning out products and technologies for nation building.”

On the occasion, the President mentioned some products developed by IIT Delhi that includes Nanofilter for protection against the ever-growing air pollution, the TrueHb Hemometer a low cost haemoglobin measurement device that is convenient and portable, the SmartCane, a smart version of the normal cane for visually impaired people and Clensta, a device for a waterless body bath.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and advances in robotics and Artificial Intelligence are changing our society and workplace, he said adding: “They are challenging the many disciplines of engineering. This is pushing institutions such as the IITs towards upgrading and updating themselves. And it is re-emphasising the role of IITs as our society’s navigators as we explore new technologies, and come to understand their implications for our economy, sociology and ethics.”

Urging the alumni to give back to the institute and the society he said : “All great universities of the world have a deep and thriving engagement between old students and the institution. They invite alumni to contribute, not merely in terms of financial assistance but more in terms of knowledge sharing and time.

Elucidating on the ways this ‘giving back’ could be attained he said that: “Many of those who studied here in the past were fortunate to have their world-class education heavily subsidised by the tax payer. There is a moral obligation to pay back, and to help those less privileged – in whichever manner the individual prefers. It would be best of course if this process of paying back enriches education and scholarship at the grassroots of our society.”

“The obligation is on the IIT Delhi authorities to involve and invite alumni, many of whom are well placed in other universities or in industry, to come back and teach here – even if for short periods or for specific courses. If procedures need to be simplified to achieve this, then efforts must be made in that direction.”

Earlier Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla , Chairman, BOG, IIT Delhi congratulated all those had graduated and exhorted the students to tap the vast opportunities that are available. “You are surrounded by unimaginable opportunities. These can make a difference.”

On the occasion the Institute director Prof. V Ramgopal Rao gave a brief report on the achievements of the institute.
The Distinguished Alumni Award were given to Prof Soumitra Dutta, Mr. Sunil Sood, Mr. Saurabh Mittal and Dr. Kiran Bedi. The President’s Gold Medal was conferred on Prerit Mathur, the Director’s Gold Medal was awarded to Yoshita Agarwal, the Perfect 10 Gold Medal to Lalwala Mitesh JayeshKuwar.